KALAMAZOO, MI -- The story is now a thing of legend in Jim Tobin's family.

About 15 years ago, Tobin and his then-4-year-old daughter Claire were in the kitchen at a family gathering during the holidays when she uttered what sounded a lot like a four-letter word.

If you go

"The Very Inappropriate Word"

What: New children's book from illustrator Dave Coverly, a native of Plainwell, and author Jim Tobin. Both men live in Ann Arbor. They will be in Kalamazoo to discuss, sign the book.
When: 3 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 16.Where: Bookbug, 3019 Oakland Drive.Cost: Free.
Contact: 269-385-2847,

"I snapped my head around, not in anger but in puzzlement," Tobin said.

At almost the same instant, his daughter spun around as well. She looked at her dad and went on the defensive.

"ÂDid you think I said a bad word? I didn'Ât say a bad word," Tobin said she responded.

The exchange is often brought up when a member of the family swears. Claire is now an adult, but the exchange helped inspire the new children's book, "The Very Inappropriate Word," which was released in September.

The book centers on the young boy Michael who has a love of language, but discovers a bad word while riding the school bus. Tobin, an award-winning author who lives in Ann Arbor, provided this story, while illustrator Dave Coverly, the creator of the popular comic strip "Speed Bump" and a native of Plainwell, provided Michael's colorful world. When a bad word is used, it appears as a grawlix, or a series of symbols used to designate swearing in a comic strip, surrounded by a cloud of dirt -- think Pig-Pen meets a dictionary.

"I literally thought it's a dirty word, so I thought I'd make it dirty," Coverly said.

After Michael shares his new word with several classmates, a teacher encourages Michael to find new words in the library.

"We hope people will read it as a fun story, not so much as a deep lesson. But we do think people should pay more attention to words than to dirty words -- like Mrs. Dixon, Michael's teacher. She knows the score," Tobin said.

This is the second book between the two Ann Arbor-based friends. Both men have two daughters and used their parenting experiences to shape some of the book.

"We did talk about it a lot. The most fun about doing this
book is he's a friend so it's a true collaboration. We'd bounce ideas off each
other and stories about our kids," Coverly said.

The men said they set out to tell a funny story and to deal with bad words "head on." Coverly, 49, said there's little you can do from shielding your children from swear words between the Internet, TV and social media.

Instead of harping on what words not to use, Tobin and Coverly try to "show the English language is rich and delightful to use well." Throughout the book, Michael collects words like a kid collects comic books.

Tobin, who won National Book Critics Circle Award in biography for 2006's "Ernie Pyle's War: America's Eyewitness to World War II," said there is a lot of hypocrisy from parents on this topic. Parents tell their children not to swear, yet do it on their own. Parents are more concerned about how they will look in front of other parents when little Timmy drops an f-bomb in front of the neighbors.

Tobin said he tried to keep it simple when talking bad words with his children.

“There’s a time and a place when it’s OK to use those words and a lot of times and places where it’s not OK to use those words," he said.

He added, “If your language causes discomfort or offends someone, you should not do that."

Having said that, the book is intended to be fun.

"Anybody who takes it too seriously is missing the point," Tobin said.

Coverly, whose work will be displayed through Nov. 17 at the Kalamazoo Institute of Arts, said the book is about "replacing bad words with good words and the joy of language."

They intend to share this joy and the art of drawing during an appearance at 3 p.m. Saturday Nov. 16 at Bookbug, 3019 Oakland Drive. Tobin and Coverly will be there.

"There will be paper and pencils there for kids (or adults, I suppose), and we'll try to illustrate our own favorite words. I'll have a pad on an easel and will be doing the same, while taking suggestions if anyone has any! What I want the presentation to get across is the emphasis our book has on good words, not inappropriate ones," Coverly said.